The present invention relates generally to financial transaction systems and methodologies, and in particular to systems and methods for staging transactions and facilitating payments by consumers to a lender or merchant to consummate a financial transaction and/or to maintain a financial relationship.
A wide variety of payment methods are available to purchasers of goods and services, or borrowers of money. Consumers may make purchases with currency, checks, money orders, debit cards, credit cards, and the like. Consumers may authorize the transfer of funds electronically from a customer account to a merchant or lender to satisfy an obligation. The success of each of these payment methods, however, is dependent on an actual transfer of funds. If the consumer account has insufficient funds to honor a check or to transfer electronically, the consumer will in all likelihood be notified by the merchant or lender that an additional payment attempt must be made. In some cases, the second or subsequent payment attempt must be tendered immediately or within a short period of time to avoid termination of the transaction, repossession of the purchased property, or the like. Thus, it would be desirable to have systems and methods in place so that the consumer can rapidly send payment, backed by sufficient funds, to a merchant or lender.